The Effectiveness of Child-Centered Mindfulness Therapy on Emotion Regulation and Self-Concept Improvement in Children with Divorced Parents

Children whose parents divorce each other face stress that has short-term and long-term psychological effects. Based on this, the present research was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of child-based mindfulness therapy on emotion regulation and improving self-concept in children with divorced parents.

The present study was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group and a         2-month follow-up phase. The statistical population of the research was all children with divorced parents in Kermanshah city in 2019, 30 children with divorced parents were selected by conveniance sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 10 sessions of mindfulness intervention based on Bordick's (2017) model, while the control group was placed on the waiting list to receive the intervention after the end of the study. The instruments used included the Children and Adolescents Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross and John, 2003) and the Children's Self-Concept Questionnaire (Piers and Harris, 1969). Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance.

The findings showed that mindfulness training on the components of emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal (P<0.01, F=29.361) and suppression (P<0.01, F=31.652) and the components of children's self-concept (behavior (P<0.01, F=17.813), rational and school status (P<0.01, F=16.762), physical appearance and attributes (P<0.01, F=8.421), anxiety (P<0.01, F=19.429), popularity (P<0.01, F=21.927), happiness and satisfaction (P<0.01, F=18.691) have a positive effect and these results obtained continued in the follow-up period (P<0.01).

When children of divorce feel that there is nothing they can do, mindfulness gives them other choices by increasing mental flexibility, and this issue is effective in regulating their emotions. Also, mindfulness leads to improved self-concept by reconnecting internal and external sources, sources that a person may not even believe in.